High-performance athletes share the secret to speedy recovery from injuries

One is a Jiu-Jitsu black belt and competitor, the other an athlete and Crossfit coach. But what do Natália Zumba and Anita Pravatti have in common? In addition to being multi-champion Brazilians, both use CBD (cannabidiol)-based products in their daily lives, especially with a focus on injury prevention and recovery.

European champion and three-time medalist at the IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu World Championship – the sport’s main competition – Natália Zumba suffered a serious injury during her final at the Brazilian No-Gi Championship, held in August last year. In the last minute of the fight, Zumba was in the 50/50 position, he went up to guarantee the victory, but he got flustered and ended up taking a lock. By delaying the turn in a defense attempt, the black belt ended up rupturing the PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) and the CPL (posteolateral corner).

“I had to go through a very big surgery, take a lot of grafts to rebuild all the ligaments, but everything went well. Instituto Vita, in addition to supporting my work, gives me the certainty of having the best professionals at these times”, recalled Zumba, who soon after the surgery started using CBD:

“CBD oils and the ‘pain gel’ from USA Hemp Brasil have been fundamental in my recovery. As soon as I had the surgery, I contacted my prescribing doctor who regulated the doses for pain control with CBD and THC , which greatly controlled my pain through anti-inflammatory actions. In addition, the treatment helps with anxiety. I’ve always done three to four training sessions a day, it’s been 14 years of Jiu-Jitsu and I’ve never been unable to train for so long” .

Last season, Natália Zumba finished seventh in the IBJJF No-Gi Adult Female Black Belt Ranking, placing the Alliance athlete among the top ten in the world without the gi. Now focused on her recovery, Zumba can’t wait to get back to fighting.

“Without THC it would be impossible to sleep the first month after the surgery, and as soon as I took off the bandages I started using the ‘pain gel’, which also helps a lot in relieving pain. 14 weeks have passed since the surgery and I’m still using the gel to the physiotherapy sessions, in addition to the oils in the morning and at night. This whole process, in addition to the medical follow-up, of course, has been helping me to get back to fighting as soon as possible. I can’t wait”.

Reference in Crossfit also bets on CBD

A partner of USA Hemp Brasil, as well as Natália Zumba, Anita Pravatti has been practicing Crossfit since 2009 and was one of the pioneers of the sport in the country. Five-time champion of the TCB – considered the Brazilian Crossfit Championship -, in addition to numerous other achievements, Pravatti is now an athlete on the Le huit team and also works as a coach at Team Alberto Neto.

In October last year, however, she was diagnosed with Kienbock Syndrome, which consists of avascular necrosis of the semilunar bone, and had to undergo surgery. Since then, she has been using CBD-based products as a way to help her with her rehabilitation.

“At the end of 2022 I discovered Kienbock Syndrome, because my radios (forearm bones) are different sizes, so when I received weight compression, it compressed the bone and it was killing me. I still have some shoulder injuries, so I suffer from pain and I try to be as careful as possible”, said Pravatti, who added:

“In the midst of this recovery process, I started using CBD in October and I’ve been running out of time to train. One of my biggest fears was not being able to train at the same intensity and volume, but the oils (without THC) help me a lot with the pain, of course, with the work with the doctor. Today I have much less muscle and joint pain, and I’m still preparing to return soon”.